In data
A global challenge
The charts make it all too clear. The structure of societies around the world is changing. People are living longer and the balance between younger, working-age people and pensioners is shifting.
Chart one shows the picture in the UK. Note the growth since 1996 of that topmost section of the bar, which shows the proportion of the population over the age of 85. Back in 1966, the over-85s made up a small sliver of the British populace. But since then that cohort has grown substantially and, according to the Office for National Statistics, will continue to grow.